Her foot hit the side of the mountain with a hard crack, her body falling past it and her ankle snapping. She could do nothing but wrap her arms around the baby strapped to her chest, protecting her from the rocks and branches they were crashing into as they went tumbling down the side of the mountain.
"Mommy!" Phoenix's cry came, the mother's greatest pain. She was basically a pinball being smacked around by the rocks and sharp edges of the mountain, her foot that felt broken rolling underneath her body, but the part that hurt the most was the scared screaming from her baby girl.
Gritting her teeth, she did her best to turn her body enough and stick out her good foot to run against the grain and slow her fall. Eyes shooting open, the brunette let one hand go of the little girl and reach out to grab a rock big enough.
The one year old cried into her mother's chest, feeling their movements finally stop and both her mother's hands abandon her back.
"It's ok," Emily rushed out, turning over so she was on her stomach and Phoenix's carrier against the ground. She hooked both her hands around the rock she caught onto and pulled their bodies up the steep side of the mountain, her good foot pushing against the soft ground to help their bodies back up. "Hang onto mommy, baby." When she was close enough, the FBI agent wrapped her arm around the rock and got herself sitting on top of it, immediately checking her daughter for any injuries.
Trying to level herself on the rock, her ankle was brought to her attention for the first time. It hit against the cold stone and a shot of pain coursed through her leg. Emily looked down, eyes stinging, and noticed her foot turning inward, the bone sticking out of place just enough for the single mother to know it was close to poking through her skin.
Phoenix's little tears spilled down her cheeks and into the scarf her mother had wrapped around her neck that morning.
"It's ok," she smiled down to her daughter, her arms wrapping around the carrier. "Come on," she smiled, wiping away the tear she felt in the corner of her eye before tickling underneath the little girl's chin, "smile for mommy."
The one year old's features scrunched before she buried her face in her mother's chest.
Huffing, the brunette rolled her shoulders to loosen her muscles before she looked back up to where she had fallen from.
It was at least over a three hundred foot drop.
She made sure the rock she was on sat deep in the ground before she slowly turned her body around and reached out for a thick branch that hung over her head.
"Mommy!"
Emily's eyes drifted down to the scared girl strapped against her chest and she tried for another smile. "It's ok. Mommy's getting us back up to the path. Do you trust mommy?" She watched the beautiful little girl shakily whimper something in agreement before she grasped the branch with both of her hands.
She felt her body lurch forward s she used all her strength to pull them off the rock. Her hands slid against the rough wood, carrying their bodies over the gap between the rock she had used to stop them from falling any further and the dip in the mountainside that could have them speeding straight back down to the river below them.
Using her upper arms, the FBI agent pulled herself closer to the branch to try and secure them the best she could. Her body had never felt heavier, her daughter screaming bloody murder still ringing in her ears from their fall.
Phoenix did her best to crane her little neck and see just what her mother was bringing them to. Looking down, the little girl whimpered, seeing how far they were from the ground.
The brunette grit her teeth, feeling the splinters of the thick wood digging into her hands. "It's ok," she grunted, noticing they were crowing closer to the solid side of the mountain. "Keep your eyes on mommy."
She felt the branch begin to wobble and quickly Emily climbed to the root of the limb, swinging them to the ground and sitting them down on the steep incline. She pressed a desperate kiss to her daughter's head, hugging the little girl now struggling to get out of her carrier.
Phoenix cried, yanking at her mother's windbreaker and kicking her legs.
"I can't let you out, baby." Emily smoothed down her daughter's hair, her eyes stinging with a new round of tears as she looked up to see the already darkening sky. She looked behind her, not able to see the path they'd fallen from.
"Mommy?" Phoenix could see the worry on her mother's face.
Emily peppered a row of kisses along the crown of her daughter's head, reaching out to grab her beanie that had gotten caught on a branch. She took in a sharp breath before turning back around, digging her fingers into the dirt to make sure they wouldn't slip. She got on her knees, crawling her way back up the mountain to a spot where they could at least sit on level ground and she could check her cell service to call for help.
The brown eyed baby gripped hard at the jacket her mother wore, scared her little head would hit the ground.
The FBI agent sent a quick smile to the little girl as she slowly made her way back up toward the path, knowing how scared her daughter was. "We're getting back," she nodded, looking back up to the high peak above her and being careful not to knock around her ankle as she crawled. "I promise."